Focusing on the human inhabitants of the Arctic and their struggle for existence, this book describes the history and culture of ethnic groups such as the Inuit and Samoyed tribes, from the Stone Age to the 1990s. In addition the text looks at the impact of European, American and Russian explorations and the attempts to forge a trade route through north-west or north-east passages - including those by the 16th-century explorer Willem Barentsz, and by Henry Hudson, whose name lives on in Hudson Bay. It also describes the exploration and exploitation of the region by the West and Russia, including the effects of the whaling industry, fur trading, ivory trading, and the mining of coal and drilling of oil. The strategic and scientific importance of the Arctic region, and the resultant race between East and West to control and colonize this apparently barren region is also given due regard.